He didn’t know his Jayhawks would be trying to fend off being the first.

The South Region’s top seed needed 17 points from Jeff Withey, and a series of foul shots from Ben McLemore and Naadir Tharpe down the stretch, to hold off scrappy Western Kentucky 64-57 Friday night and avoid another upset on a day full of them in the NCAA tournament.

“We’re pleased we won, and didn’t play our best by any stretch,” Self said. “They controlled the game for the most part. We’re happy to advance, but certainly not pleased with how we played.”

The Jayhawks (30-5), flummoxed by the Hilltoppers’ full-court pressure, trailed 31-30 at halftime. Kansas eventually built an 11-point lead in the second half, but couldn’t put Western Kentucky away until McLemore’s two foul shots with 11 seconds left.

McLemore and Travis Releford scored 11 each for the Jayhawks, who wearily advanced to play No. 8 seed North Carolina and former coach Roy Williams in the South Regional on Sunday.

The marquee matchup between a pair of college basketball blue blood almost didn’t happen.

North Carolina squandered a big lead before holding on to beat Villanova 78-71, and then the Jayhawks watched Western Kentucky do everything it could to spring one more upset.

Jamal Crook scored 13 points and T.J. Price had 12 for the Hilltoppers (20-16), who would have made history by becoming the first No. 16 seed to upend a No. 1 seed.

Alas, the undersized team in red couldn’t hang tough with the bigger guys in blue down the stretch, allowing Kansas to reach 30 wins for the fourth straight season — the first time that’s happened in Division I men’s basketball, after Memphis was forced to vacate the 2008 season.

Since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 16 seeds are winless against No. 1 seeds in 116 games, including Southern’s heartbreaking 64-58 loss to Gonzaga on Thursday.

“I think the entire country got a glimpse of what they’re made of, a lot of character, a lot of heart,” Western Kentucky coach Ray Harper said. “A lot of people doubted us this season. We went through a lot of adversity, and adversity will tell you a lot about people.”

Western Kentucky spent the first half pinning Kansas against the ropes.

Price hit an opener 3-pointer in the opening minute, George Fant was able to use his superior quickness against the bigger Withey in the paint, and the Hilltoppers — who needed four wins to capture the Sun Belt tournament title and the league’s automatic bid — slowly built a 20-16 lead.

The heavily pro-Kansas crowd fell quiet, even as Jayhawks coach Bill Self turned up the volume on the sideline, laying into his team for its lethargic start.

Kansas finally pulled ahead for the first time since midway through the first half when Elijah Johnson finished off a three-point play that made it 28-27 with 90 seconds left, but a pair of baskets by Price down the stretch gave the scrappy Hilltoppers a 31-30 lead at the break.

The Jayhawks seized the lead again early in the second half when Kevin Young followed up his own miss by grabbing the rebound and throwing down a reverse jam, and then Releford scored off a nifty feed from McLemore, forcing Harper to burn a timeout.

Fant and Aleksejs Rostov both picked up their fourth fouls midway through the half, taking seats next to Harper on the Western Kentucky bench. But the longtime Division II and NAIA coach couldn’t keep his hottest hands there for long, and decided to gamble by putting them back in.

Harper rolled snake eyes when Fant fouled out with 5:37 remaining.

Withey made one of two free throws, McLemore drove untouched down the lane for an easy basket, and Withey scored on a nifty move in the post to push the Jayhawks to a 52-42 lead — their biggest of the game — and force Harper to call another timeout with 3:44 left on the clock.

Western Kentucky started whittling into the lead in the closing minutes, and a 3-pointer by Crook made it 59-55 with 25.4 seconds left on the clock.

But the Jayhawks got the ball in the hands of Naadir Tharpe, and he made two free throws to provide them a cushion. Price misfired from beyond the arc, and Brandon Harris was long on another 3-pointer from the corner, as McLemore added two more foul shots to seal the Jayhawks’ victory.

SOUTH REGIONAL

FLORIDA GULF COAST 78, GEORGETOWN 68

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — College basketball, meet Florida Gulf Coast.

Sherwood Brown scored 24 points and Bernard Thompson had 23 to lead FGCU to an incredible NCAA tournament debut.

The Eagles, in their second season of being eligible for Division I postseason, became just the seventh No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2.

FGCU (25-10) will play seventh-seeded San Diego State the third round on Sunday.

A night after America’s oldest university, Harvard, pulled off a major upset over fourth-seeded New Mexico, one of its youngest — FGCU’s first student was admitted in 1997 — got one that was even bigger.

The Eagles took control with a 21-2 run that gave them a 52-33 lead with 12:28 to play, though the Hoyas used a furious rally to get within 72-68 with 52 seconds left.

It was another disappointing NCAA exit for the Hoyas (25-7), who have lost to a double-digit seed in their last four appearances.

Markel Starks had 23 points for the Hoyas.

While Georgetown came in allowing 55.7 points per game, FGCU beat that number with 9:22 to play when it led 57-40. The Hoyas allowed opponents to shoot 37.6 percent from the field, fourth-best in the country. The Eagles shot 42.9 percent (21 of 49) and they held the Hoyas to 37.5 percent from the field (24 of 64).

Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter Jr. had 13 points on 5-of-17 shooting and 11 rebounds. On this night he couldn’t match Brown, the A-Sun’s player of the year.

SAN DIEGO STATE 70, OKLAHOMA 55

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jamaal Franklin scored 21 points, James Rahon had 17 and San Diego State earned its third NCAA tournament victory.

The Aztecs (23-10) did nothing spectacular, but everything well and used a modest 8-0 run late in the second half to snap a tie game and take control.

Romero Osby scored 22 points for the 10th-seeded Sooners (20-12).

The Aztecs are in the tournament for the fourth straight season but they had only won games in 2011 when they reached the round of 16.

The never-say-die Wildcats (20-14) erased a 20-point deficit that North Carolina built in the first half and then nearly climbed out of a nine-point hole in the final minutes after the Tar Heels hit three consecutive 3s and once again appeared to take control.

The victory set up a possible dream matchup in the third round for Kansas fans, who have been jamming the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City, about 30 minutes from the Jayhawks’ campus. The eighth-seeded Tar Heels (25-10) take on No. 1 seed Kansas, where Tar Heels coach Roy Williams coached for 15 years and rang up more than 400 wins.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Erik Murphy had 18 points to lead four Florida players in double figures and the Gators shut down the NCAA’s highest-scoring team.

No. 3 seed Florida turned this one into a rout with a 19-1 run in the second half and held the 14th-seeded Demons (23-9) to their fewest points this season — 34 below their average.

Patric Young had 16 points and nine rebounds for Florida (27-7). Kenny Boynton and Scottie Wilbekin both scored 11.

DeQuan Hicks had 12 points for the Demons, who upset Iowa as the No. 14 seed in their last NCAA tournament seven years ago. They couldn’t repeat that feat against the Gators, who lost in the regional finals each of the past two seasons.

Florida plays Minnesota on Sunday.

MINNESOTA 83, UCLA 63

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Andre Hollins scored 28 points and Minnesota rolled past punchless UCLA in what could be Bruins freshman Shabazz Muhammad’s last in college and coach Ben Howland’s final one leading the program.

Austin Hollins scored 16 for the 11th-seeded Gophers (21-12). The Gophers eased some pressure on coach Tubby Smith by giving him his first NCAA tournament win in six seasons.

Another early-round exit by the sixth-seeded Bruins (25-10) won’t help Howland, who is facing public speculation back home about his future despite winning the Pac-12 regular-season title this year.

Muhammad, expected to leave for the NBA, led the Bruins with 20 points.

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EAST REGIONAL

INDIANA 83, JAMES MADISON 62

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Freshman Yogi Ferrell scored 14 points in the first six minutes as top-seeded Indiana slam dunked its way past James Madison.

Not taking any chances with a No. 16 seed, the Hoosiers (28-6) started fast and built a 33-point lead in the second half over the Dukes (21-15) and opened the tourney with a statement they intend to be around for a while.

Looking every bit like a team capable of cutting down the nets in Atlanta next month, Indiana will play Temple in the second round on Sunday.

Ferrell finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Cody Zeller had four dunks for Indiana.

Freshman Andre Nation led James Madison with 24 points.

TEMPLE 76, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 72

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Khalif Wyatt scored 31 points, finishing the game with an injured left thumb that had him grimacing before his clinching free throws, and Temple broke with its one-and-done NCAA tournament trend.

The ninth-seeded Owls (24-9) opened a 17-point lead before Wyatt — the Atlantic 10’s player of the year and top scorer — hurt his left thumb and left the game briefly, returning with black tape on the non-shooting hand.

Every shot was an adventure, but he made enough — including six painful but perfect free throws in the final 32 seconds — to keep Temple around for more than one game. The Owls had lost their opener in four of their last five NCAA trips.

No. 8 NC State (24-11) trailed most of the game and came up short of a deep tournament run on the 30th anniversary of its national title.

Richard Howell had 14 points and 15 rebounds for NC State.

MIAMI 78, PACIFIC 49

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Durand Scott had 21 points and Miami had a triumphant return to the NCAA tournament.

The Hurricanes (28-6), who may be even better than their No. 2 seed in the East Regional would indicate, put the game out of reach with a 14-0 run midway through the first half of their first NCAA tourney game in five years.

Pacific (22-13), the California team that played its last game for retiring longtime coach Bob Thomason, was no match for the Atlantic Coast Conference’s regular season and tournament champions.

Miami plays Illinois on Sunday.

ILLINOIS 57, COLORADO 49

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson made consecutive 3-pointers to give Illinois back the lead with 6 minutes left and the seventh-seeded Illini pulled out a tough win over Colorado.

Illinois led by 16 at halftime only to watch Colorado rip off a 21-2 run in the second to grab the lead. The Illini looked desperate until Paul and Richardson coolly knocked down their shots to put Illinois ahead 48-44.

Four free throws by Paul eventually put the game away for the Illini (23-12).

Ethan Wragge added 12 for the Bluejays, who won their NCAA tournament opener for the second straight year.

McDermott, the two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year and 2012 All-American, made all 11 free throws to help the seventh-seeded Bluejays (28-7) move on to play Duke on Sunday.

Sean Kilpatrick’s driving layup after Cincinnati had the arrow on a jump ball cut it to 64-63 with 17 seconds left.

Austin Chatman sank two free throws for Creighton. Kilpatrick’s attempt at a tying 3 rimmed out, and the Bearcats were whistled for traveling after grabbing the rebound.

Kilpatrick scored 19 points, and Cashmere Wright had 15 for the 10th-seeded Bearcats (22-12) in their camouflage-patterned shorts.

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WEST REGIONAL

MISSISSIPPI 57, WISCONSIN 46

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marshall Henderson shook out of a shooting slump and scored 17 points in the second half, giving the Rebels their first NCAA tournament win since 2002.

For the cold-shooting Badgers (23-12), the upset loss snaps a string of six straight first-game victories. Ole Miss (27-8) trailed 25-22 at halftime and Henderson, who led the Southeastern Conference with 20 points a game, had only two points on 1-for-11 shooting.

But the flamboyant and outspoken guard found his touch just in time for Ole Miss, and wound up hitting 6 of 21. His back-to-back 3-pointers tied it 36-36 and his layup and two free throws in the final minute sealed the win.

Wright, who scored a game-high 21 points for the Explorers (22-9), made the first two free throws to give La Salle a 62-61 lead. Kansas State’s Jordan Henriquez missed in the paint at the other end, and Wright made the first of two more free throws with 9.6 seconds to go.

The Wildcats (27-8) raced down court, but point guard Angel Rodriguez got hung up in the corner by the Kansas State bench, and his off-balance shot over the corner of the backboard missed everything as the final buzzer sounded and the Explorers leaped off their bench to celebrate the upset.

Henriquez and Shane Southwell scored 17 points each for Kansas State.

OHIO STATE 95, IONA 70

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Sam Thompson had career highs with 20 points and 10 rebounds, part of a dominating performance by Ohio State’s front line against Iona.

The second-seeded Buckeyes (27-7) have won nine straight, including their last five games of the regular season and a run to the Big Ten tournament title.

Deshaun Thomas had 24 points as the Buckeyes’ fast breaks led to dunks and a season high in points, thrilling the large Ohio State contingent in Dayton.

Aaron Craft had a season-high six steals and seven assists for the Buckeyes. Shannon Scott tied his career high with 10 assists.

Ohio State plays Iowa State on Sunday, one win away from a fourth straight trip to the round of 16.

Iona (20-14) returned to the court where it suffered the biggest meltdown in NCAA tournament history last year, blowing a 25-point lead against BYU.

Tavon Sledge scored 20 points for Iona, which had 19 turnovers that led to 29 of the Buckeyes’ points.

IOWA STATE 76, NOTRE DAME 58

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Freshman Georges Niang matched a season high with 19 points and Iowa State, showing it can do much more than just fire away from outside the 3-point line, dismantled Notre Dame.

The 10th-seeded Cyclones (23-11) led the nation in 3-pointers this season, but the Cyclones were just as effective from short range in ousting the Fighting Irish (25-10), who played their final game as a member of the Big East and will join the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.

Melvin Ejim added 17 points for Iowa State, which shot better than 70 percent for much of the second half.